MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE
EXPERT ADVICE FOR SALES COUNSELORS AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS
Collette Gray, CEO and COO of Integral Senior Living, has seen the sales role from all sides. Like many others in this fi eld, she “fell into” it: With a degree in business manage- ment and a minor in marketing, she was working in the hotel industry, but the loss of a beloved grandmother made her want to give something
back. Volunteering in senior living, she was urged to apply for a sales and marketing director opening in a new community.
She worked her way up: sales director, to executive director, to regional sales, to regional operations, to vice president and divisional roles, and ultimately to her current CEO and COO role.
Celebrating 25 years in the industry, she says, “I can’t imag- ine doing anything else. I guarantee I started in this industry, and I will retire in this industry.”
Q: What lessons in sales helped prepare you
to move up the ladder? To correlate how my sales goal prepared me for executive goals and c-level goals: First, relationships are key in everything we do. That’s applicable whether you’re a sales director or a CEO. The foundation of it all is listening, being present with people.
Another is persistence. I learned early on from a mentor that if you don’t fail at something, you’re never going to change and grow. That’s something that’s really stuck with me, and now I do it from a company growth perspective.
Third is making sure you ask for the sale. As the saying goes, you can’t get to yes unless you ask for it. Things aren’t just given; you have to ask, and you have to work for them.
Q: What’s the ideal working relationship for an
executive director and a sales director? I’ve had the opportunity to wear both hats, and I can honestly say having that sales piece made me a better executive director, because it helped me connect the dots early on. It truly is a partnership. You have to work so incredibly closely together; you almost have to be able to complete one another’s sentences. I think the executive director and sales director need to be meeting on a daily basis, they need to be working leads together, they need to be off ering solutions together.
If that cohesiveness doesn’t exist, sales, and ultimately revenue, is going to be negatively aff ected. I believed this back in the day, when I started 25 years ago, and I believe it now—there must be that synergy.
Q: What should newcomers to senior living sales
counseling be aware of? In this industry there are two things you have to be able to do: You have to listen, and you have to learn. This industry is going to grow with all these baby boomers coming in, and we have to listen to what their wants and needs are, so we can sell to those wants and needs.
That applies whether you’re learning the needs of the prospect in front of you and building that relationship, or whether you’re learning what’s happening in our industry, so that you can sell the benefi ts of this amazing lifestyle that they can be a part of.
Q: You’re the chair of Argentum’s Women in Leadership committee and involved in other workforce advocacy as well. Are you fi nding the workforce shortages many
are experiencing now extend to sales? We have not had a problem recruiting good sales talent. We’re very creative—we don’t need someone to have only senior living experience. It’s more important that they have sales experience—and relationship experience. A lot of times people will come out of hospitality; that lends itself very nicely to senior living.
We have an amazing in-house recruiter. If you’d asked me this fi ve years ago, we weren’t even using recruiters. Now we have our own in-house. That’s testament to the times we’re in. We’re competing with more diff erent types of businesses. It is hard from a line staff and from a care staff perspective, but we’re very fortunate with our sales team.
The workforce initiatives now are marketing not only to people in college, but also in high school.
That’s why I support workforce eff orts—so that 25 years from now, people aren’t saying they fell into this industry, like I did. They’ll be saying it was purposeful: I went in to this industry because I wanted to.
Q: What do people considering this career
need to know? You have to earn your stripes. You have to put in some time and understand the industry before you can move into an executive director role.
If you’re looking for purposeful work, this is the industry you want to be in. You give a lot, but you get so much more back.
36 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019
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